Of course, a car is not "necessary".

But wouldn't it be "useful" as xyz asked and wouldn't it give one a lot of flexibility? I say YES.

Therefore it'd be nice to have one IMO.

Ingo, Cimbrone – can’t remember who on this board mentioned in response to somebody else’s question that if a car would be valuable anywhere in Switzerland, that would be Engadine. So I thought….well, not sure what I thought.

We generally rent a car (unless we go to visit a big city), so not having one would be a first for us. I know everybody says one is not needed in Switzerland, and I’m trying to convince myself of that. Most likely we will not rent one this time, and I’m worried – not that we would not be able to reach the places we want to reach, but that it would take us 2 hours by trains that might need 1-2 connections, vs 1 hr if we were driving.

The other concern is, by car, we can always stop if we find a place we would like a picture of – if by train, do the windows roll down? Traveling seems more restrictive by train. And you depend on their schedule. Are the trains generally crowded? How often do they run? I know, it depends on route…I think the main thing is, it’s a different way of traveling for us, I just need to get used to the idea.
Thanks.

There's nothing wrong with renting a car in Switzerland, if that is how you prefer to travel and are more comfortable doing so.

I'm one that thinks renting a car is ideal for the Engadine although buses and trains run efficiently. There are just so many quaint towns to stop and tour that I found you're more flexible with a car.

It really depends on where you'd like to base yourself and what you'd like to do. Taking the train down to Poschiavo and back is a day trip where you wouldn't need a car at all.

If you prefer having a car, by all means, get one. I always prefer train and bus travel, only because I find using the local transportation to be part of the adventure. And it's stress-free. Once in the Engadine, you will be walking a lot and taking buses from one village or town to another. There will be no shortage of picture-taking opportunities, even if you miss out on a few landscapes whizzing by between destinations.

Thanks, all these options are great. In the end, we might use a mix of trains, buses and a car, but this is probably to early to decide. For now, I’ll focus on making a list of things we would like to do, places we would like to see in each of the 3 areas, then prioritize.

Based on that, we’ll need to decide which town to stay in and if we really need a car. All your answers have been extremely helpful. I’ll be back with more questions.

bookmarking...thank you!